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E OUT-OUT.

No. 586,565. Patented July 20,1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT CEEIcE.

CHARLES G. PERKINS AND JOHN TREGONING, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT,

ASSIGNORS TO THE PERKINS ELECTRIC SlVITCH MANUFACTURINGCOM- PANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FUSIBLE CUT-OUT.

SPECIFIOATIGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,565, dated July 20, 1897.

Application filed December 15, 1896. Serial No. 615,752. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: the cap. Fig. is an enlarged detailsection Be it known that we, CHARLES G. PERKINS illustrating the manner of engagement of one and JOHN TREGONING, citizens of the United of the contacts of the cap with one of the con- States, residing at I-Iartford, in the county of tacts of the base, and Fig. (5 is an enlarged 5 Hartford and State of Connecticut, have indetail section showing one of the engaging vented certain new and useful Improvements contacts of the base in side view.

in Fusible Cut-Outs, of which the following In the views, 1 indicates the base, which is is a specification. usuallya circular disk of porcelain, but which The invention relates to the class of cut-outs may of course be formed to any desired shape to which have a base with contacts adapted to of other suitable insulating material. Scbe connected with the wires that lead to and cured to the outer face of the base are the from a source of electrical energy and a cap conducting-pieces2. These pieces in the form with contacts adapted to make connection shown have mortises 3, with binding-screws with the contacts on the base and connected etfor the attachment of the main-circuit wires [5 by fusible wires with plates adapted to be that lead from and to the source of electrical joined with the ends of the wires that conenergy. Projecting from these pieces are the tinue to the lamp or other apparatus confasteningheads5,which maybe flatT-shaped nected in the circuit. pieces or may be round studs with enlarged The object of the invention is to produce a ends. Portions 6 of the upper surfaces of the 20 very convenient, attractive, and inexpensive conducting-pieces adjacent to the fastening- 7o cut-out of this class, having the parts so arheads are made on an incline, and these surranged that the cap bearing the fuses can he faces are arranged so as to incline toward the easily and quickly locked to or removed from plane of the fastening-heads as they extend the base bya simple turn of the cap, the conaway from the fasteningheads.

25 nection between the base and cap being such The cap 7 is usually formed circular of por- 7 5 that a very strong grasp of the parts is procelain or the same insulating material as the vided andaclose and tight electrical j unction base, and mounted in the cap are plates 8, between the contacts is insured. provided with bent spring-holding arms 9.

The embodiment of the invention shown These arms are preferably forked, so that 0 and described herein has a base of insulating when the cap is placed upon the base the openmaterial bearing co11ducting-pieces adapted ings of the forks will receive the shanks of to be attached to the 1naincircuit wires, said the fastening-heads and the projecting edges conducting-pieces having fastening-heads of the heads will extend over the arms and and inclining binding and locking orwedge thus hold the parts together.

3 5 surfaces, and a cap of insulating material Located in the cap are the conducting with holding-arms adapted to engage the fasplates 10. These plates are connected by tening-heads and the inclining binding and fuse-wires 11 with the plates 8, which wires looking or wedge surfaces on the base, and are secured by suitable binding-screws, and plates connected with the holding-arms by the plates are also provided with binding- 0 fusible wires and provided with bindingscrews for the attachment of the wires that screws for the attachment of the wires that pass out and in the central perforation 12 continue the circuit from the cap to the lamp through the cap to and from the lamp or or other apparatus. other piece of apparatus that is connected Referring to the accompanying drawings, through the cut-out with the main circuit.

5 in which such a cutout is illustrated, Figure In the cut-out shown the fastening-heads l is a side elevation with a portion of the cap project outwardly from opposite edges of the broken away to show one of the holding-arms. conducting-pieces 2 on the base and the hind- Fig. 2 is a plan of the base. Fig. 3 is a secing and locking surfaces incline in opposite tion of the base, taken on plane denoted by directions. Therefore the holding-arms are 50 the broken line of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan of bent from opposite edges of the plates 8 in IOCI the cap and have their forks opening in opposite directions. With the parts arranged in this manner the cap is secured to the base by placing the cap and base face to face and then giving the cap a short rotary movement, so as to pass the forked arms on the cap beneath the fastening-heads on the base. This draws the cap and base together and a continuation of the rotary movement causes the ends of the forked arms to engage and ride up on the inclining surfaces of the pieces 2, adjacent to the fastening-heads, which bends the spring-arms out of their normal form and wedges them between the inclining surfaces and the edges of the heads and insures a close contact between the edges of the fastening-heads and the surfaces of the forked arms and also between the forked arms and the inclining surfaces of the conductingpieces on the base. This wedges the parts so that besides a good electrical contact being made between the conducting-pieces the arms are bent into locking curves back of the heads, and by these the cap is held tightly in place.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the ends of the forked arms are slightly bent, so that when the parts are together the arms will bend around the outer edges of the inclining surfaces and lock the parts. WVhen the parts are locked together in this manner, the cap cannot be moved from the base without the exercise of considerable rotary force.

If the fastening-heads were arranged to project outwardly from the same edges of the conducting-pieces 2, with the inclining outer surfaces sloping in the same direction, and the forked arms on the cap were bent and opened in the same direction, the cap would be placed face to face with the base and simply given a sidewise push to engage and secure the parts instead of giving it a slight rotation, as is necessary in engaging and securing the parts when arranged as shown in the views.

\Vhere the arrangement of the parts is such that the cap is secured to the base by a rotary movement instead of a straight sliding movement, an annular rim 13 may be made around the edge of the cap and raised bosses It may be formed on the base to make contact with the rim and guide the cap in its rotary movement, so that the holding-arms will correctly engage with the fastening-heads.

The shape of the plates 2, on which are the binding-screws for attaching the circuit-wires, is not material to the invention, for anyother common shape for these parts with the usual binding-screws for the attachment of these wires may be employed without in the least changing the character of the invention.

A cut-out embodying this invention is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. The

cap bearing the fuses is readily secured to or removed from the base by a slight movement. The securing means are firmly locked together. A close electrical contactis made between the conducting parts and the cap is tightly held when in position on the base. In fact, the strain of any vertical pull upon the cap or the wires connected with the cap when it is in position tends to make a closer contact between the holding-arms and the fastening-heads and inclining binding and locking surfaces.

WVe claim as our invention 1. A cut-out consisting of a base of insulating material bearin g contacts adapted to be connected with the circuit'wires, said contacts having outwardly-proj ectin g fastenin gheads and binding and locking surfaces inclining outwardly and away from the fastening-heads, and a cap of insulating material bearing forked spring-arms bent so as to engage the inner edges of the fastening-heads and the outer faces of the inclining binding and locking surfaces and extend over the edges of the locking-surfaces when the cap is attached to the base, substantially as specified.

2. A cut-out, consisting of abase of insulating material having contacts adapted to be connected with the circuit-wires, said contacts having outwardly-projecting fasteningheads and wedge-surfaces that incline toward the plane of the fastening-heads as they extend away from the fastening-heads, and a cap of insulating material bearing forked spring-arms arranged so as to engage the inner edges of the fastening-heads and the wedge-surfaces, which wedge-surfaces, as the cap is attachedto the base, bend the springarms out of their normal form and wedge them into locking curves back of the fasteningheads, substantially as specified.

3. In combination, in a cut-out of the within-described class, a fastening for securing the cap to the base, consisting of a contact adapted to be connected with a circuit-wire, said contact having an outwardly-projecting fastening-head and a wedge-surface that inclines toward the plane of the fastening-head as it extends away from the fastening-head, and a forked spring-arm arranged so as to engage the inner edges of the fastening-head and the wedge-surface, which wedge-surface, as the cap is attached to the base, bends the spring-arm out of normal form and wedges it into a locking curve back of the fasteninghead, substantially as specified.

CHARLES G. PERKINS. JOHN TREGONING.

\Vitnesses:

II. R. \VILLIAMs, E. J. HYDE.

IOC

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